Comic Con 2013: ‘Arrow’ Season 2 Promises More Villains and a ‘City of Heroes’

On Saturday night, the cast of The CW’s Arrow joined the producers for a panel at San Diego’s Comic Con International to talk about the upcoming second season of the show. As Oliver (Stephen Amell) continues his journey toward becoming a hero, he won’t be the only one stepping up to make Starling City a better place.

The panel kicked off with a sizzle reel (see below), which recapped the end of last season and the tragic (still crying over this) death of Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell). It also showed a sneak peek at footage from the second season premiere, “City of Heroes.”

It’s been five months since Tommy’s death and Oliver has taken over the family business since Moira (Susanna Thompson) is in jail paying for all of her crimes. Oliver is having a difficult time running the company because the Queen name is now associated with murderers.

The video gives the first look at Summer Glau as Isobel Rochev as she interacts with Oliver and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards). But the biggest surprise at came at the end of the video when we got to see Caity Lotz’s mystery character – Black Canary! Before fans could cry ‘foul’ again, producers pointed out that this is the beginning of the Black Canary story and reminded everyone that Yao Fei (Byron Mann) was the first Green Arrow on the show.

Two other casting announcements were made at the panel. Kevin Alejandro (True Blood) has signed on as Sebastian Blood, an alderman who rises to power after the earthquake in the season finale. Comic fans will recognize the character as being inspired by Teen Titans Brother Blood.

Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight) will play Ben Turner, also known as the assassin Bronze Tiger. His character will be tied to China White (Kelly Hu) and along with Blood will be a member of the Suicide Squad. Michael Rowe is expected to reprise his role as Deadshot as well.

Other panel tidbits: John Barrowman dropped by, fueling speculation that Malcolm Merlyn might not be dead after all, Thea (Willa Holland) will take over running Oliver’s nightclub (did she go from 18 to 21?), Felicity has upgraded the Arrow Cave and the character of John Diggle (David Ramsey) will be made an official part of the Green Arrow comic book universe.

Check out the video below and then hit the comments and let us know which part of season two you’re most looking forward to.

About the author

Mandy Treccia

Mandy Treccia has served as TVSource Magazine’s Executive Editor since 2016, formerly as Editorial Director from 2012-2016. She is an avid TV watcher and card carrying fan girl prone to sudden bursts of emotion, ranging from extreme excitement to blind rage during her favorite shows and has on more than once occasion considered having a paper bag on hand to get her through some tough TV moments. Her taste in TV tends to rival that of a thirteen-year-old girl, but she’s okay with that. Follow her on Twitter at @SourceMandy.